What title made the biggest impact on your life this year?
Reading can be pure pleasure, a mental escape, but more often
than not we hope the time we put into books offers some sort of real life
reward. Maybe a novel makes us feel less weird and alone. A business book could help us
crack a tough problem at work. Or a memoir might lead to a useful insight about
life.
The bottom line is the best books are the ones
that help us long after we've put them down. Which titles will have the biggest
impact on your life? The answer, of course, varies depending on your taste and
situation, but it's always handy to know what books helped others the
most.
To that end Hiut Denim and Do Lectures
co-founder David Hieatt kicked off a discussion on Twitter recently, asking his
followers which book had the biggest impact on them in 2019:
The resulting conversation drew in many
entrepreneurs, executives, and creatives (most based in the U.K.), who
shared the books that changed their lives this year. Enjoy the reading
inspiration.
1. Winners
Take All by Anand Giridharadas
Oren J. Falkowitz, founder of Area 1 Security,
suggested Winners Take All. A bestseller by The New York
Times columnist Anand Giridharadas, this one is a "groundbreaking
investigation of how the global elite's efforts to 'change the world' preserve
the status quo and obscure their role in causing the problems they later seek
to solve," according to Amazon. Sounds timely as the backlash against
tech gains steam and the presidential election heats up.
2. Digital
Minimalism by Cal Newport
Looking to tame your use of tech? Then Growth Sessions
founder Michelle Bondesio has a recommendation for you: Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport.
3. Quiet by
Susan Cain
Marcus Taylor, founder of digital agency
Taylor/Thomas, has an idea for fellow introverts hoping to feel more
comfortable in their own skin: Quiet by Susan Cain. "I am an introvert
pretending to be an extrovert. She made me feel normal about how group
situations can feel overwhelming," he writes.
4. Peak by
Chip Conley
The Embassies founder Jan Garde said Peak by Chip Conley was the title that most changed
his life this year. Subtitled "How Great Companies Get Their
Mojo from Maslow," the book is part memoir, part management guide,
which draws from Maslow's fanous hierarchy of needs, as
well as the author's own experience at the head of a troubled hospitality
company.
5. Happy by
Derren Brown
Dom McCormack, creative director at CHILLI UK,
insisted that Happy, by
Derren Brown, didn't just change his 2019, it changed his entire life. Digging
into the history of happiness from the ancients Stoics up to today, the book
pushes back against the usual self-help prescriptions for those chasing
happiness and promises to offer better alternatives. The U.K.'s Sunday
Times called it "witty, useful and beautifully
written."
6. The Body
Keeps The Score by Bessel van der Kolk, MD
Group Think partner Rob Estreitinho offers a
more offbeat suggestion: The Body Keeps The Score. A deep dive into how trauma
affects our bodies, and the most promising treatments for survivors, written by
a leading researcher in the field, this one isn't for everyone. But if this
is a subject that has touched you or those you love, this comprehensive
look at the latest science on trauma could be a life changer.
7. How to
Fail by Elizabeth Day
Noting the male makeup of most of the
recommendations, copywriter Emily Ash Powell offered to correct the balance
with her selection of books by women that have recently helped her. Among her
picks is How to Fail, based on the
popular podcast of the same name. Amazon describes it as a
"brilliantly funny, painfully honest and insightful celebration of things
going wrong. This is a book for anyone who has ever failed. Which means it's a
book for everyone."
PUBLISHED
ON: NOV 14, 2019
The opinions expressed here by Inc.com
columnists are their own, not those of Inc.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment